


Chilly Reception

by ThornyHedge



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit (2012) RPF
Genre: M/M, Mild Character Bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-16
Packaged: 2017-12-07 20:21:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/752678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThornyHedge/pseuds/ThornyHedge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a prompt fill for The Hobbit RPF Kink Meme, made by ninjababypowpow.</p><p>I won't reveal the entire prompt, as it would give the story away.  Here's the beginning of the prompt:</p><p><em>So Dean joins the cast and everyone lets him feel he's not welcome there. Maybe it's not everyone, per se, but nobody speaks up against those who do. They are all professional at set, but as soon as they're off...  Well, it doesn't bother Dean and he certainly won't run off to complain. It'll take time, they'll warm up to him, he's sure of it.  Only they don't. He eats alone, spends his time during scenes and evenings alone, they basically ignore him or make jokes at his expense. </em> </p><p>More to come; this is only the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Fili

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninjababypowpow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninjababypowpow/gifts).



\--------

“Rob Kazinsky resigned from the cast, effective yesterday afternoon,” Peter tells them all in the commissary over breakfast. 

Aidan feels his heart plummet. 

“Did you know?” Adam leans over and asks him. His breath smells like coffee.

Numbly, Aidan shakes his head. No. No, he didn’t know. Mother _fucker._

“Have we got a replacement coming in?” Graham wonders, speaking for all of them.

“I have an actor coming in this morning to read for the part. I’d considered him the first time around,” Peter explains, “I think he’ll be a good fit. Aidan, Richard… come to my office at eleven. I want you running some scenes with him.”

“Who is it, Peter?” Richard asks.

“Name’s Dean O’Gorman. He’s a Kiwi, which is handy. I believe a few of you have worked with him before,” Peter tells them. “Rest of you, enjoy your day off.” He leaves the room, his P.A. bustling to keep up.

“Wow, some news, eh?” Nesbitt leans into Aidan’s other side. “What’d you do to drive him off, laddie?”

Aidan’s look is so sharp and sudden that James shuts up quickly.

“That name’s not familiar to me,” Adam wrinkles his brow, trying to place the actor.

“He’s on that Kiwi show about the family of Norse gods,” Stephen Hunter chimes in. “Little blonde guy. Kinda cocky.”

“Jed and I worked with him back in the nineties,” Will Kircher tells them. “We did _Return to Treasure Island,_ ” Will and Jed exchange a knowing, loaded glance that none of the rest of them can interpret. Jed’s smirk makes Aidan uncomfortable. 

“Is he any good?” James wonders.

“Of course he’s good,” Martin settles it. “Peter wouldn’t be considering him if he weren’t.”

“A new big brother for Kili,” Graham comes up behind Aidan and massages the brunet’s shoulders. “How exciting!”

Adam is using his cell phone. “Ah!” he exclaims. “Now I know who he is.” He’s looking at the IMDB web site. “He likes to get naked on screen,” he smiles. “Uh… not that I’ve seen all these films. Just heard. Lots of male on male action.”

“Skin flicks?” Graham wonders.

“No,” Adam clarifies. “He just happens to land parts that require him to kiss other men—a lot.” He grins. “That, and show off his bum, which, as I can best recall, is quite lovely.”

“Wikipedia says he acquired his black belt at age ten,” Martin has his own cell phone out. He turns the device so Aidan and Richard can see Dean’s photo. “Good looking, eh?” he asks them. “Not much taller than I am. Wonder how Peter will sort that out.”

“Movie magic,” James tells him. “I _have_ seen this one before,” the actor muses. “Oh, heavens, yes. That god-awful Hercules show from back in the 1990s!”

“ _Young Hercules,_ ” Adam reads from the cell phone. “Dean played Iolaus, Hercules’ sidekick. I remember watching it back in the day. Awful show. Hot guys,” he shrugged. “Dean had amazing hair back then. Gorgeous blond curls…”

“…and leather pants. _Those_ are hard to forget,” Richard smiled. “But having been forced to wear leather pants myself, I can empathize. There was a great deal of martial arts and fighting on that series. Would make sense that Jackson would seek him out.”

Their voices wash over Aidan, tinny and far away. He stands. “I’ll see you at eleven, Richard,” he tells the older actor, leaving his tray behind as he leaves the commissary. He swear he hears the words “lover’s spat” when they think he’s out of earshot. 

_Bloody hell, Rob!_ he thinks, when he’s outside in the cool air. Granted, he’d never really felt a close connection with Rob, despite the fact that the two of them were portraying what were supposed to be close siblings. But that lack of closeness was just as much his fault as Rob’s. What could have possibly driven the Brit away? He suddenly realized that it didn’t exactly matter. Eighty-eight days of filming lay behind them, but there were still countless to go. He’d go back to his trailer and research this O’Whatever character and try to keep this one from leaving. One thing was for certain: he was not going to be as touchy-feely with Dean as he’d been with Rob. It had clearly made Rob uncomfortable.

To Aidan’s pleasant surprise, Dean O’Gorman is Dean O’ _Gorgeous._ Aidan did a quick YouTube search and found countless footage of the actor, both recent and older. And yes, he’d kissed men on film. And, shit, if it wasn’t hot. Dean, in his younger days, had a velvety voice and a beautiful head of angelic blond curls—and that, Aidan could certainly appreciate. The footage from _Young Hercules_ made him both cringe at its dreadfulness, and drool at the sight of Dean’s ass in those ridiculously tight leather pants. Was this really a children’s show?

And this _Almighty Johnsons_ gig… hrm. Anders is a right dick. No wonder Jed was smirking. What did he know about Dean that the rest of them had yet to find out? Aidan just prayed he’d have some chemistry with Dean. He’d felt nothing close to kinship with Rob’s Fili. Rob had been gorgeous, but aloof. Aidan only hoped he could find some sort of camaraderie with his replacement. 

At 10:45, Aidan set off across the lot, meeting Richard outside the trailer park. Neither of them speak right away, but they walk together in a companionable silence.

“Yes,” Richard finally breaks the silence. “I Googled him.”

“Me too,” Aidan smiles.

“Let’s welcome our new blond friend into the Durin family,” Richard pats Aidan on the back.

\--------

Dean, as it turns out, is quite likeable. And hot. And talented.

They all sense it, the second they start reading. He moves with grace and has a natural rapport with the camera.

“How on earth can I possibly be related to the two of you?” the blond wonders, when Aidan and Richard show up. “We look nothing alike.”

Richard wonders too. Dean is at least seven inches shorter than he is—and Aidan has a good five inches on the Kiwi. Dean has a surfer boy’s good looks and dimples you could stick quarters into. He’s just plain adorable, and he makes them laugh and puts them at ease from the get-go.

“You let us worry about the details,” Jackson tells Dean after about an hour of reading and photography. “I would like to put you into some Dwarven makeup after lunch. You lads too,” he turns to Richard and Aidan. Get some photos of the three of you, see what we can do to work on that family resemblance. 

Then he takes Dean aside, but well within earshot of Aidan and Richard. “I’d like to bring you on as Fili,” he tells the blond. “I’ll fax a contract over to your agent after lunch. Glad to have you with us, mate,” Jackson shakes his hand. Dean is beaming and it’s infectious. “These two,” he turns back to Richard and Aidan, “can show you around set… where your trailer is, and all that. Lunch is at 12:30. Come back to make-up at 1:30 and we’ll put you through the process. Welcome aboard!”

“Glad to have you,” Richard offers his hand to Dean to shake. Their eyes cling for longer than is necessary, forcing Richard to blush. 

“Brother!” Dean turns to Aidan, catching him in a surprising hug. Aidan discovers he rather likes it. 

“Welcome to _The Hobbit,_ ” Aidan tells him, savoring the feeling of the livewire that is Dean’s body against his. “Let’s get you fed,” he says, pulling away, remembering his vow not to be touchy-feely.

“I need just two minutes to make a quick phone call,” Dean grins. “I’ll be right behind you,” As Aidan and Richard walk away they hear Dean speaking on his cell phone, “Mum? Guess what?” 

The brunets exchange smiles. They’re already in love and don’t even know it.

\--------

Lunch is awkward, to say the least. Dean is still giddy from receiving the best news of his life, but utterly terrified. Like, _first day at a new school times ten_ terrified. He follows Aidan through the food line, amazed at the spread. He hardly has an appetite but takes a sandwich, an apple and a Diet Coke.

“Come, Dean,” Richard tells the blond. “Let’s introduce you around the lads. They’re a rag-tag bunch, but all right once you get to know them.” He leads Dean over to a table of six. There’s no room to sit down, but Richard pauses. “Everyone,” he says to get the actors’ attention, “this is Dean O’Gorman. It’s not officially official, but Peter just offered him the role of Fili. Dean, meet Stephen Hunter, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, John Callun and Peter Hambleton.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you all,” Dean smiles. All six nod and mutter subdued hellos before turning back to their conversation.

“It’s always like this at lunch,” Aidan explains. “The lads tend to get a little cliquish.”

Dean sees Jed and Will up ahead and hopes for a warmer greeting, at least anticipating they might help him break the ice. He raises his hand, trying to catch Will’s eye. Will gives him an uncomfortable nod, and Jed doesn’t look his way at all. Nor does the other grey-haired actor they are seated with.

“And this is _our_ little lunch bunch,” Aidan tells Dean. “Adam Brown, Martin Freeman, and Sir Ian McKellan.” 

“It’s a genuine pleasure to meet all of you,” Dean offers his hand to Martin to shake. “I’m a big fan of your work, Martin. I’ve practically worn out my _Sherlock_ DVDs.” Martin shakes his hand curtly and turns back to his salad. “And, Sir Ian,” Dean is suddenly at a loss for words. “I—I’m humbled to be able to share the screen with you.” He put his tray down next to Adam and sat. “Hi,” he smiles. “I’m Dean.”

“Nice to meet you, Dean,” Adam scrutinizes him over his glasses like a curious new specimen of bug. “Nice to have someone my size in the cast,” he says, and Dean can’t quite tell if it’s a compliment.

They eat, but only Aidan and Richard actually address Dean throughout the meal. Dean tries to engage Adam, Martin and Ian in conversation, but they dismiss him with brief, disinterested answers. Dean can’t help but think he’s acting too fan-nish, or over-eager… so he shuts up and nibbles on his ham sandwich.

Richard soon rises and says, “I have an errand to run before we get back to it. Dean, I’m sure Aidan can get you where you need to go.”

“Righto,” Aidan nods. “See you in thirty minutes, Rich.” He turns to the others. “Peter wants to see Dean in Fili gear and make-up this afternoon.” Their reaction is less then spectacular. Aidan bites his lip and looks at Dean apologetically. “I think they’re all eager to get back to shooting,” he says, in their defense. “Rob leaving caused a bit of a disruption.”

“Rob must have been quite an asset,” Dean said to the men at his table. “I hope I can fill his shoes. Uh, so to speak. I understand he was slightly larger in stature than I am.” 

Annnd, crickets. 

Beneath the table, Aidan lays his thigh against Dean’s in silent support.

Dean prays the rest of the cast warms to him over the next few days.


	2. This Isn't a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean has a not-date. 
> 
> Relations with the rest of the cast haven't improved much.

Dean, Richard thinks, looks more adorable as Fili than he does as Dean… which is no mean feat. Where Rob actually looked less attractive in the Fili get-up, Dean manages to make it look like a second skin. Richard is compelled to walk closer and circle Dean to get the full effect.

“We conditioned the wig a bit, for a sleeker look, and added some braids that match yours, Thorin. Thought it might help with the family resemblance. We enlarged the nose, obviously. His boots have a three inch lift, to make him closer in height to his brother,” Clara from make-up told Peter. “I think it worked out quite well.”

Richard agrees. So does Aidan, when he shows up a few minutes later. 

“Look at you!” Aidan is all smiles and pats Dean’s fur-covered chest. “It’s like you were born to it.”

“Well, not completely,” Dean grimaces. “This adhesive itches like the dickens,” he wiggles his nose adorably.

“You’ll get used to it quickly,” Richard assures him. He decides right then that he’s got to ask Dean out for a drink. But, not right away; he doesn’t want to give the blond the wrong idea.

“We could pass for brothers now, I suppose,” Aidan inspects Dean’s face and hair closely. “You wear the hair very well, Dean,” he tells him, dark eyes twinkling. He was about to say something else when the properties mistress appeared with Fili’s dual sword sheath. 

“Yikes,” Dean grins. “Apparently Fili’s a samurai.”

“Something like it,” Aidan tells him. “You grab this one with your right hand, and this one with your left.”

“Ah, okay,” the blond extracts first one sword than the other, taking a few steps back and assuming a fighting stance. “Am I sufficiently bad-ass?” he wonders.

“Not yet,” Peter tells him. “But you will be. Let’s take some pictures.”

“D’you fancy a drink tonight?” Aidan asks Dean as Peter’s positioning them.

“I’d love that,” Dean breathes a sigh of relief. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here after all.

A few feet away, Richard works on perfecting Thorin’s bad-ass scowl.

\--------

_This isn’t a date_ Aidan tells himself, as he sits on a bar stool next to Dean O’Gorgeous. _I’m bonding with my brother._

They have a wonderful time, talking and working on lines until the bartender kicks them out. 

Aidan doesn’t give in to his urge to kiss Dean when they part at Dean’s trailer. But he really, really wants to.

\--------

Six in the morning is _early._ Dean comes to this realization when his alarm goes off. He blames himself for staying out too late. But it’s worth it, he realizes, to have one person on this set not treat him like Typhoid Mary. Dean smiles, remembering that his make-up chair is next to Aidan’s. That gives him the impetus he needs to get out of bed and into the shower, where he pleasures himself thinking of Aidan’s smile and deep, throaty laugh.

Dean makes the decision that he’s just going to go with the flow and attempt to impress his reluctant cast mates with what he is able to pick up on. He’s always had good observational skills—an artist’s eye for detail. Sadly, that same eye let him see the way Jed and William looked at him the day before, and the way they are looking at him now, in costume.

He feels like he’s in one of those bad high school movies where mean girls pick a victim and traumatize her for no apparent reason other than because they _can._ He’d hoped at least those two would be willing to speak with him. They’d all worked together years before, yes, but he hadn’t felt it had gone badly. Maybe they didn’t share his sentiments. Either way, he has to find out. Someone has to make an effort. May as well be him.

They get a break from shooting around 11 a.m. and Dean decides he is going to talk to his former _Treasure Island_ cast mates. He takes a bottled water from the cooler and approaches the pair, huddled conspiratorially together on a bench talking in low tones. 

“Jed!” he smiles, approaching them “and Will! It’s great to be working with you again.”

“Hello, Deano,” Jed’s smile is icy. “I had heard Peter was considering you for the role of Fili, but chose Rob. How’s it feel to be second choice?”

William chuckles.

“Feels pretty good, actually,” Dean squares his shoulders. “I’m looking forward to being part of such a monumental project. I also thought it might be brilliant to work with the two of you again. But, I’m getting the feeling you don’t quite like the idea.”

“Aw, Dean,” William grins. “You’ve aged a bit since 1996. Not so boyish anymore. But you still seem to be able to twist directors around your little finger.”

“All he has to do is take off his clothing,” Jed deadpans, and Will snickers.

Dean doesn’t know how to reply to this. What can he say? _Is this really what they think of me?_ he wonders, painfully relieved that he doesn’t have to work with Nori or Bifur that afternoon. _Don’t cry!_ he tells himself. _For God’s sake, don’t let them see you cry!_

“We’re just messing with you, Deano,” Will says finally, clapping him on the back. “How about we take you out for a few pints tonight, give you the lay of the land?”

“All right,” Dean agrees, hesitantly. “I’d like that.”

“Meet us at 8 p.m. outside sound stage F,” Jed suggests. “We’ll show you the lab where they make the weapons. You’ll love it.”

“Then a few pints,” Will concludes.

“I’ll see you then,” Dean tells them. He hopes he doesn’t have a horrible time.

\--------

“Making friends?” Aidan asks when Dean strides over to join him.

“We’ve worked together before,” Dean tells him. “They want to take me out for drinks tonight.”

“Oh,” Aidan pouts. “And here I was hoping I had cornered the market by investing early.”

“I’m just trying to make nice with the natives,” Dean quickly clarifies. “Believe me when I tell you, I’d rather be going out with you, Aidan. I just,” he pauses, “we worked together almost twenty years ago. I need to show them who I am now.”

Aidan nods. “Of course you do. Listen, if you’re in by eleven, come to my trailer. I’ll run some lines with you.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Dean tells him. And it did.

\--------

Dean dresses with care, deciding on jeans and a dark blue button down. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. He’s known these fellows for years. He leaves early, still unsure where to find the correct building. A map in his “welcome kit” leads him to it, just in time to meet up with Will.

“Evening,” Will nods. “Jed’s running a bit late. He’ll meet us in a few. Come on in,” he opens the door to the sound stage and flicks on a light inside. “The lab’s just through here.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to be here after hours?” Dean wonders. 

“Of course. Everyone around here works crazy hours,” Will tells him. “I’d wager some poor schlub is missing dinner tonight working on something for the new Fili.”

“Oh, I hope not,” Dean says sadly. “I’d prefer the transition to be more seamless than that.”

William opens a door and reaches in, flicking on a light switch. “Great place, this. The film uses tons of weaponry, as you’ve probably already noticed. They make and store them here.”

Dean’s eyes widen appreciatively at the enormity of the lab. “This place is huge. I’d love to watch them work,” he remarks.

“The artists usually come in four twelve-hour days. I think the lab’s closed tomorrow,” Will scratches his head. “But I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you paid a visit when they’re open. Now, you have got to come see _this_ room over here,” he steers Dean towards a door marked _Supplies._ Will opens the door and flicks on the light inside. The smell of paint and glue wafts out.

“What’s this r—?” Dean begins, but is suddenly grabbed from behind by strong arms. “Will!” he cries out, but when the actor turns to face him, his grin is sinister.

“Hello, Deano,” Jed’s voice is low and dangerous in his ear. “Enjoying the tour?” 

“W-what are you doing, Jed?” Dean sputters. 

“Just a little welcome-to-the-cast hazing,” Jed tells him, herding him into the closet, where Will is waiting, holding a pair of handcuffs and a roll of duct tape. 

“What? No!” Dean squirms in Jed’s iron grip. “Guys, this isn’t funny,” he tells them, struggling.

“It’s not meant to be funny, prima donna,” Will sneers, grabbing one of Dean’s wrists and clicking the handcuff shut tightly. 

Jed pushes him forward against the back wall of the closet next to a radiator. “We’re going to leave you here for a couple of hours to think and reflect on your behavior,” the much taller actor tells him.

“My beha—?” Dean begins, but Will tears off a strip of tape and secures it over his mouth. _Do I fight them?_ Dean wonders. _Or do I just go along with this…joke?_

Jed shoves him closer to the radiator and William pulls at his wrist, threading the handcuffs through the heavy metal piping and clicking the other handcuff shut around Dean’s other wrist, effectively cuffing him to the radiator. 

“Sit down!” Jed orders, pushing Dean to the floor. He accepts the tape from Will and wraps several layers around Dean’s ankles, ignoring Dean’s grunts of protest. “Now, you just relax, blondie,” Jed sneers, “in this nice, _secluded_ corner of set.”

William chuckles, “We’ll be back for you,” he grins, dangling the silver handcuff key in front of Dean’s face, “eventually!” He shoves the key into his pocket. “You behave yourself now.”

The pair leaves, flicking off the light and plunging Dean into darkness.


	3. William Forgets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story was written to fill a lengthy prompt at the LJ Hobbit Kink Meme submitted by ninjababypowpow. The prompt was so long, I couldn't put the entire thing in the summary box. :) Part one of the prompt is listed on the Chapter One summary.
> 
> Part Two:
> 
>  _One day, the cast decides to play a prank on Dean. They cuff him into a small closet a little bit away from the hustle of the set, and plan to let him out one or two hours later. But they forget, and it's not until the next morning, when Dean's nowhere to be found, that they remember and yeah, okay, this is not funny anymore. Because when they find Dean his wrists are chafed bloody, and there are tear tracks on his cheeks and when he wakes up and sees them he flinches back so sharply he actually hits his head against the wall._  
>     
>  _So, basically, I want to drown in the Dean-angst and then get bundled up in fuzzy blankets made of Dean-comfort. Give me the cast thinking about what they did and coming to terms with the fact that they were assholes and apologizing and making it up to Dean._
> 
> Hope I'm doing it justice.

\-------

Jed and William didn’t come back in a few hours.

Dean wasn’t wearing a watch, nor could he have seen his hand in front of his face in the dark of the closet regardless, but his internal clock told him that far more than three hours had passed.

The smell was getting to him. He normally loved the smell of paint, latex and other craft-related chemicals. It reminded him of his favorite pastimes, his passions—painting and photography. But this storage closet had a strong, concentrated odor to it, especially with the door closed and no ventilation. The odor that had comforted him initially was now making him sick to his stomach.

It didn’t take much work to peel away the tape covering his mouth. Yelling for help, however, yielded no results. He knew he was far from everyone on set. And if a random security person had passed by, it certainly wasn’t while he’d been yelling for help. 

He was cold as well, and was glad to have worn a shirt with long sleeves. He found himself wishing the radiator would kick on. Although the dust he felt on top of the metal behemoth made him think that it probably had never been used. _Except as a giant anchor for me,_ he thought glumly. At least none of the chemicals were stacked too close to the heat source. 

He’d felt all around the top of the radiator and down the pipe and couldn’t find any way of freeing himself that didn’t involve someone unlocking the handcuffs He was well and truly stuck until William returned with the key. Resigned, he sighed and decided to pass some time dozing. 

Fighting a wave of nausea and shivering, he tucked his knees up to his chest, lay his head against the radiator and tried to calm his racing heart. He would have liked to take long, slow deep breaths to calm himself, but he didn’t think that was a good idea right now. His lungs felt like he’d been out in the cold for too long—like they did back when he’d had pneumonia years earlier. He tried to focus on something that cheered him—coffee with his mother, Aidan’s smile, snapping pictures, the fact that he was actually _going to be in the Hobbit movie_. That seemed to do the trick. He dozed off, hoping to hear the door open soon.

\-------

Aidan was disappointed when Dean didn’t come to breakfast. And he hadn’t come over the night before. Still, Aidan had stayed up until 1 a.m. waiting.

The disappointment must have shown on his face, because when Adam sat down across from him, he asked, “Why so glum, Turner? Did O’Gorman stand you up last night?” He stripped off Ori’s mittens so he could put marmalade on his toast.

The question hit so close to home that Aidan didn’t immediately answer. “He went out with Jed and Will, I believe,” he finally said, idly moving his scrambled eggs around with his fork.

“Must have been quite a bender,” Adam smiled. “He hadn’t arrived at Make-up when I left.”

“I hope they didn’t make him drink himself sick,” Aidan gave up all pretense of eating. Jed and William hadn’t come to breakfast either. “I’m going to swing by his trailer and check on him,” he decided. “Can you let Peter know, in case I’m late?”

“Sure thing,” Adam said, around a mouthful of toast. 

Aidan cleaned up his tray and walked over to the trailer lot, knocking gently on Dean’s trailer door, then a bit harder when he didn’t answer. He tried the door, which he found open, and went inside. “Dean?” he called out. But the blond was nowhere to be found. Figuring they must have somehow crossed paths, Aidan went directly to the sound stage.

“Morning,” Richard greeted him when he arrived. They’d be reshooting some Bag End footage with Dean as Fili that morning. “Have you seen your brother this morning?” he asked in Thorin’s voice.

“Not yet,” Aidan sighed. “I think he might have had a late night with his Kiwi friends.”

“Ah,” Richard responded. “They do get up to shenanigans when they drink. Puts you Irish to shame,” he smiled.

Aidan gave him an affectionate punch on the shoulder and they sat together in companionable silence watching the techs set up a second fake banquet. Aidan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. It only intensified as the rest of the cast, including William and Jed, arrived on set in costume.

Aidan rose to greet the pair. “Morning, lads. Must have been quite a night you had,” he told them. “Did you leave Dean passed out next to a dumpster?”

“Oh, bloody hell!” William breathed under his breath, cutting his eyes at Jed. “I-I forgot something back at my trailer,” he said, suddenly quite dodgy. 

Jed shot him a wary look. “You forgot?”

“Yes, yes,” Will cleared his throat. “I’ll be back shortly, lads.”

“What’s he talking about?” Aidan asked Jed. “Is something wrong with Dean? Did he get sick?”

“The lad’s fine,” Jed assured Aidan. “Just drank a bit too much, is all.”

Aidan felt a sudden urge to follow William back to his trailer, but just then Peter showed up and called the actors together for a short meeting. As the group was gathering, Aidan’s curiosity won out, and he slipped out the back door, and spotted the back of Bifur’s silver-striped wig as William slipped through the door to sound stage F.

\-------

Dean could tell when morning rolled around. He could see a small sliver of light under the door to the closet. That small strip of dim light was only thing keeping him sane. His bladder felt ready to explode and he couldn’t stop shaking—a by-product of the chill and the toxins he’d been breathing in all night. Surely, Jed and William hadn’t taken them into account when they decided to play this prank on him.

 _Why hadn’t they returned? Did they really hate him that much?_ These were the thoughts that ran through his head at four a.m. while he dry heaved. He was so relieved his stomach was empty. Vomit would have only added insult to injury. 

Surely Aidan would send someone to look for him. He knew Dean was supposed to have gone out with his former cast mates last night. He’d question Jed and Will. They’d come get him. They’d— his thoughts were muddled as a wave of dizziness swept over him, threatening to pull him under.

Then he heard the door open and the closet was suddenly flooded with light from the lab outside. He winced against it. “Deano,” Will’s gruff voice greeted him, and he jerked back and away from his captor with such force that his head smacked into the wall behind him. He groaned and cowered away from the larger actor. 

“W-Will, y-you promised… last night,” he managed, words not forming with the ease with which he would have liked.

“I’m sorry, lad,” Will leaned over him and gently unlocked the cuffs. “I fell asleep and forgot about you.”

“F-forgot?” Dean was too ill and disoriented to be angry. He looked down at his chafed wrists, bloodied all around and bruised in a few places from his struggles. 

“It was an honest mistake,” the older actor said. “No harm done, I hope.” He noticed Dean’s pupils looked a little large, but that was no doubt from spending so much time in a darkened closet. “Feeling all right?”

“Not really,” Dean told him. “B-bad smell, fingers… numb,” he told Will, or tried to. The frustration brought tears to his eyes and he was powerless to stop them from falling.

“Get yourself un-taped and hurry to make-up, lad,” William told him, patting Dean on the shoulder. “We’ll make this up to you later, so don’t rat us out,” he promised, and fled quickly, taking the handcuffs with him.

Dean was free, finally. He flexed his fingers experimentally, but his hands felt as if they had fallen asleep. He reached down, trying to undo the duct tape around his lower legs, but his scrabbling fingers couldn’t find purchase. Sobbing with his efforts, he was ready to roll himself out the door, pride be damned.

Then he heard Aidan calling his name. 

“Aid!” he called out hoarsely. “Aidan! In here!” His efforts sent him off into a coughing fit, which brought on another wave of dizziness. He lowered his forehead to the floor to lessen the spinning of the room.

\-------

Aidan lost Will after he ducked into sound stage F, but he wasn’t giving up on finding Dean. After a cursory search, he started calling Dean’s name and running through the building. He was about to leave when he finally heard Dean’s voice calling his name in response. Heading in the direction of the sound, he wound up in the darkened Weapons Lab, where the only source of light came from an open storage closet.

Aidan rushed into the closet and found Dean lying on the floor, silver duct tape wrapped around his shins. The blond was struggling to sit up, and Aidan noticed his wrists were raw and bleeding.

“Dean, dear one,” he knelt next to his cast mate and helped him to a sitting position. “What happened to you?”

“Locked in,” Dean told him, and Aidan wiped tears from his face with both thumbs. Dean was shaking. “Cuffed to radiator …all night. M’sick, from the smell.”

“Let’s get your legs untied,” Aidan worked his nails under the tape and began peeling it away from his friend’s shins. “Did Will and Jed do this to you?”

“Don’t want to talk about it,” Dean said, weakly. “Need fresh air,” he trembled, “and bathroom.”

“Okay, love,” Aidan said soothingly. “Do you think you can walk, if I help you?” 

Dean nodded. “Hope so.”

Aidan helped him slowly to his feet, wrinkling his nose against the strong smell of paint in the room. “Have you been breathing this shit in all night?”

“Yeah,” Dean admitted, and the thought of it made him retch again, knees giving out. 

Aidan held him steady. “We need to get out of this closet,” he told the blond. “And I think you need to get looked at by medical.”

Dean nodded agreement, wrapping an arm around Aidan’s costumed waist and using him heavily for support. 

“Here’s a loo,” Aidan stopped at the restroom. “Do you need my help?”

“N-no,” Dean blushed, grabbing the frame of the door with both hands and propelling himself into the small restroom.

Aidan pulled his cell phone out of his costume and called Peter, who answered on the first ring.

“Peter,” he told the director. “I found Dean. Someone pulled some sort of hazing prank on him. Please don’t tell the others what I’m about to tell you. He was locked in a closet in the Weapons Lab. Handcuffed to a radiator, actually,” he explained. “It was a supply closet, lots of fumes. He’s really sick right now. Yes, I’m calling medical to meet us. I’ll call back after they check him over.”

The restroom door opened and Dean came slowly out. A film of perspiration covered his skin and he had dark circles under his eyes. “So much better,” he smiled gently, then passed out, falling forward into Aidan’s arms.


	4. 'We Were Idiots'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean gets taken to the hospital.

It was the wheezing that scared Aidan the most. He’d had a playmate with asthma when he was a small child and those attacks always frightened him. He felt so helpless in the face of Dean’s inability to breathe properly. He also noticed with dismay that Dean’s fingernails were slightly blue. He hoped it was a trick of the lighting, and hefted the unconscious blonde into his arms and carried him outside into the fresh air to wait for the medics to arrive.

It wasn’t a trick of the lighting.

Dean looked dreadful. Aidan was partially relieved that he was unconscious. It would keep him from panicking over not being able to breathe. The terrified look in Dean’s eyes when he’d shown up would be forever etched on Aidan’s brain. _What did they do to you? And how could they?_ He wondered, rolling Dean onto his side and pulling his head into his lap. At least his pulse was strong and regular.

Aidan was so relieved when the ambulance arrived that he nearly fainted himself.

\-------

A few hours later found Dean settled into a hospital room, bleeding wrists bandaged up neatly. Dean had regained consciousness in the emergency room and was so exhausted from his ordeal he kept drifting in and out of sleep. The doctor had prescribed a flush of his system with a saline I.V. and pure oxygen for 24 hours. She also gave him a shot of something steroidal—Aidan was too worked up to pay attention—to help with the inflammation in his lungs.

Dean lay curled on his side, facing Aidan, an emesis basin cradled in his arms. He hadn’t thrown up in over an hour, which was great. It finally seemed like he was getting some genuine rest, so Aidan stepped out into the hallway to call Peter and give him an update on Dean’s condition. When he did, he ran into Jed and William, both in their street clothes.

“Kili,” Jed smiled. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“You two aren’t welcome here,” Aidan’s voiced dropped into a dangerous register. “Stay away from Dean. You nearly killed him.”

“We feel awful about what happened,” Will explained. “We just wanted to see how the little guy was doing.”

“The _little guy_ has inflamed lungs and a system full of toxins from the chemicals in that room you jokers locked him in. And he’s been vomiting,” Aidan told them. “What were you thinking?”

“We weren’t,” Jed admitted. “We were idiots. We came to apologize.”

“Now isn’t a good time,” Aidan crossed his arms. “He’s very ill. Take a look for yourself,” he gestured into the room, where Dean still lay in fetal position, hooked up to the IV and oxygen mask, as still as death.

“All right, then,” William blanched. “We get it, Turner. But we want him to know how terrible we feel about this. It snowballed into something … dreadful.”

“That’s an understatement,” Aidan felt a surge of protectiveness. “Leave now, and I won’t tell Peter it was you two who did this to Dean. Dean asked me not to, but I really, really feel like turning you guys in.”

“He’s a sweet kid,” Jed said sadly. “Tell him we’re sorry.”

“You can tell him when he comes back to set,” Aidan told them. “Please, go.”

The two older actors left without another word, and finally Aidan could relax.

\-------

Thankfully, the next day was Saturday, because Dean wound up spending two days in his hospital bed. The worst of the inflammation and nausea passed in the first 24 hours, but he was still trembling and weak as a kitten.

Aidan never left his side.

Richard and Adam came to visit several times, as did Peter. Neither Dean nor Aidan told anyone else who had played “the prank”—that’s what they were calling it now—on poor Dean. Dean remained sweet and optimistic throughout the ordeal. Where Aidan wanted vengeance, Dean just wanted to get back into the swing of filming. 

He came to the set, fully costumed, Monday morning, much to everyone’s surprise. 

“Dean’s going to take it easy today,” Peter told them all, “but I think I speak for everyone present when I tell you it’s good to have you back, Fili.”

“It’s great to be back,” Dean told them all. And he meant it.

\-------

Even with a lighter-than-normal scene load, Dean was exhausted at the end of the day. He let Aidan lead him through the dinner line, but he barely touched his meatloaf.

“I really just need to get back to my trailer and sleep,” he said, suppressing a yawn. “Aidan,” he raised his eyes shyly lock with the brunet’s, “will you stay with me?”

Aidan felt his heart leap. “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short, all. Crazy weekend ensuing. :)


	5. 'Grab My Hand!'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to ninjababypowpow for suggesting the prompt that inspired this little love story.

Dean and Aidan were basically inseparable after that—although their relationship remained mostly platonic, aside from a few slightly-drunken cuddles on the weekends. 

Slowly, but surely, Dean grew to be included in cast activities. The blond chalked it up to a general discontent about Rob “deserting” them and they were afraid he might flake out on them as well. But he didn’t. He was perpetually smiling, up early, easy to forgive (as Jed and William soon learned) and never complained. 

About a month after “the prank” and its aftermath, the day came to film the Thunder Battle rock giant scene. Peter had called them all together and shown the cast story boards of how he envisioned the scene. The sound stage would look very little like the finished product, aside from the costuming. 

The scene was extremely dependent on the acting abilities of the thirteen men to carry it. Peter wasn’t worried. Dean and Aidan were bonding incredibly well and he was terribly pleased with the way their natural chemistry shone through on film.

The sound stage was bustling. Techs were getting the winds and rain machines ready to set the climate. The costumed actors were climbing the scaffolding to the fake “cliffs.” Peter could easily envision the final product, even if the rest of them couldn’t quite yet.

Dean felt confident. He wasn’t required to stand near William or Jed for this scene. Even though he’d forgiven them, they still made him a bit uncomfortable. He was positioned between James Nesbitt, whom he’d come to learn was simply a delight, and his beloved Aidan.

All the actors were burdened down with their packs and weapons. When Peter yelled for action, the wind machine kicked on first. Immediately, the metal beads on Fili’s mustache braids flew up and smacked him in the face. Aidan saw it happen and squeezed his hand to comfort him, barely suppressing a smile. _I love you,_ he mouthed, as they filed out onto the fake ledge.

It was the first time he’d said it to Dean, and the blond did a double take. Aidan just grinned adorably and turned around to follow Gloin along the ledge.

“Gentle rain!” Peter called out direction, and the rain machine kicked on, pelting them all with a fine mist. “Bilbo accidentally slips!” Martin did, and Graham helped haul him back to safety with an angry grunt.

“We must find shelter!” Thorin delivered his line powerfully from the front of the line of Dwarves.

“Watch out!” Dwalin cried.

“You are seeing a humongous giant made of stone hurling a boulder towards you,” Peter gave direction. “It will hit the rock walk above your heads in three, two, one, react!” And they all did, crying out in surprise or clutching one another in fear.

“This is no thunderstorm; it’s a thunder battle!” Balin cried, pointing. “Look!”

Peter continued. “From the direction Balin is pointing, you witness a second stone giant rearing up from a nearby mountain; it rips off a massive boulder from the top of the mountain,” he said.

“Well bless me,” Bofur said incredulously behind Dean, “the legends are true. Giants; Stone Giants!” 

“Take cover!” Thorin cried. “You’ll fall!”

Peter continued, “Rocks are slamming into the wall above you. You flatten yourselves as tightly to the rock wall as you can to avoid getting hit by large and small debris. Now, the ground below you trembles, and your group is about to be split in two on the legs of the stone giant behind you. The fissure will appear between Kili and Fili! Get to your marks!”

“What’s happening?” Dean heard Kili cry out in character from in front of him.

At that moment, the platform below them began to move, literally splitting apart between Dean and Aidan. Aidan locked eyes with Dean.

“Kili! Grab my hand!” Dean called to him, stumbling and reaching, watching in horror as Aidan was literally pulled up and away from him. “Ki!”

The look on Aidan’s face was one of pure terror. It was a look Dean had seen before—the day Aidan had found him in the Weapons Lab closet. Dean felt his heart leap, and at that moment he _was_ Fili, torn away from his little brother, certain they were about to die.

Peter, of course, made them shoot the scene twice more. But, in the end, he enjoyed the first take the most. He knew the scene would be one of the most memorable in the film.

They shot the rest of the stone giant scene later that day, and wrapped shooting by filming the scene in the cave where the sleeping Dwarves fall through the cave floor into the hands of the Goblin King.

Fili and Kili’s bedrolls were flush against one another, and while Bofur and Bilbo acted out their scene, Aidan lay on his side facing Dean, dark eyes shining solemnly in the dark.

“Did you mean what you said?” Dean asked him, reaching for his hand under the cover of darkness and blankets. Their faces were inches apart. “You love me?”

“I _do_ love you, Dean” Aidan said simply, squeezing his hand. “I think I did from the moment we met.”

“I love you too,” tears welled in Dean’s eyes. “Every day I spend with you is an adventure.” He leaned over and kissed Aidan on the mouth—something he’d longed to do for weeks.

At that moment, the floor gave way, and their adventure continued.

THE END... or is it the beginning? ☻

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear friends and loyal followers. I know a number of you really enjoy my porn, and hoped this story might veer in that direction. But it didn't. It turned out to be a big, fat, snuggly love story. I make no apologies.
> 
> ♥ Thorny


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